Chapter 20 — Qal Infinitive Construct Parsing Drill

For each form: (a) Identify as IC or another form (Imperative / Imperfect / Perfect), (b) Root, (c) Root class, (d) Preposition (if any), (e) Function (Purpose / Temporal-when / Temporal-as / Complementary / Quotative / Until / From). Click ▶ Answer to reveal; click again to hide.

Part A — Strong and B-class Roots

All forms are Qal IC. Identify root, class, preposition, and function.

#FormIC or other?RootRoot ClassPrepFunction
1לִ/שְׁמֹר
IC · שמר · Strong A · לְ · Purpose/Complementary — Most common IC pattern; shewa + holem
2לִ/שְׁמֹ֣עַ
IC · שמע · Strong B (gutt. R3) · לְ · Purpose/Complementary — Patach at R3 (ע)
3כִּ/שְׁמֹ֣עַ
IC · שמע · Strong B (gutt.) · כְּ · Temporal (when/as) — "when/as he heard"; כְּ + IC = temporal
4בִּ/זְכֹר
IC · זכר · Strong A · בְּ · Temporal (when) — "when/while he remembered"
5לִ/כְתֹב
IC · כתב · Strong A · לְ · Purpose — "to write"
6לֵ/אמֹר
IC · אמר · I-aleph · לְ · Quotative — ~2,600× OT; follows verbs of speech; "saying"
7לֶ/אֱכֹל
IC · אכל · I-aleph · לְ · Purpose/Complementary — "to eat"; hateph under aleph; ל + chateph = seghol
8מֵ/עֲשׂוֹת
IC · עשה · III-ה + I-gutt. · מִן · From/cessation — "from doing"; וֹת ending

Part B — III-ה and Biconsonantal

All forms are Qal IC. Identify root, class, preposition, and function.

#FormRootRoot ClassPrepFunction
9לִ/רְאוֹת
ראה · III-ה · לְ · Purpose — "to see"; וֹת ending; tsere often: לִרְאֹת
10לַ/עֲשׂוֹת
עשה · III-ה + I-gutt. · לְ · Purpose/Complementary — Chateph under ע; וֹת ending
11הֱיוֹת
היה · III-ה · — (bare) · Verbal noun/Complementary — "being / to be"; hateph-seghol under ה
12לָ/בֹא
בוא · Biconsonantal · לְ · Purpose/Complementary — "to come/enter"; holem-waw; ל takes qamets
13לָ/שׁוּב
שוב · Biconsonantal · לְ · Purpose/Complementary — "to return"; full shureq
14לָ/מוּת
מות · Biconsonantal · לְ · Purpose — "to die"; full shureq
15בְּ/בֹא
בוא · Biconsonantal · בְּ · Temporal (when) — "when he/she came"; בְּ + IC temporal clause

Part C — I-י, I-נ, and Disambiguation

Some forms may be IC; others may be Imperative, Imperfect, or Perfect. Identify each correctly.

Key rule: Strong A-class: IC = Imperative 2ms in surface form — context alone distinguishes. I-י IC ends in ת (taw) — no Imperative has this ending.
#FormIC or other?RootRoot ClassNotes
16לֶ/כֶת
IC · הלך · I-י — "to go"; contracted form; seghol-taw; ל fused into form
17לָ/שֶׁ/בֶת
IC · ישב · I-י — "to dwell/sit"; seghol-taw; yod drops; לָ prefix
18צֵאת
IC · יצא · I-י + III-א — "going out"; bare IC with taw ending; aleph quiesces; tsere diagnostic
19תֵּת
IC · נתן · I-נ — "to give"; both nuns drop; very short form; tsere on taw
20לָ/דַ/עַת
IC · ידע · I-י — "to know"; patach + ayin + taw; dagesh forte in dalet
21שְׁמֹר
Ambiguous · שמר · Strong A — IC or Imperative 2ms; if follows preposition = IC; if command = Imper.
22שְׁמֹ֣עַ
Ambiguous · שמע · Strong B (gutt.) — IC or Imperative 2ms; same form; context distinguishes
23לֶ/כֶת
IC · הלך · I-י — Cannot be Imperative (Imper. is לֵךְ/לֶךְ without taw); taw = IC diagnostic
24יִשְׁמֹר
Imperfect · שמר · Strong A — יִ– prefix = Imperfect; not IC (IC has no prefix)
25שָׁמַר
Perfect 3ms · שמר · Strong A — Qamets + patach = Perfect 3ms; not IC